Following a high-speed chase in Texas, a man crashed his SUV into a barrier, causing his vehicle to burst into flames. Moments later, the driver confessed to police that there was a woman trapped in a duffle bag in the burning car’s trunk, and they had only seconds to get her out.
When a K-9 unit signaled to US Border Patrol agents that something suspicious was in an SUV, 29-year-old David Padilla Jr sped off in the vehicle, leading authorities on a high-speed chase, Independent reports. He drove onto Interstate 35 near Laredo, Texas, leaving authorities no choice but to block off the lanes and deploy spike strips ahead of him.
The ordeal came to an end only after the suspect drove over the strips and crashed his Infiniti QX56 into a barrier on Interstate 35. Padilla immediately fled the scene just before his SUV burst into flames. What agents didn’t realize at that moment was that he wasn’t alone.
When authorities quickly caught up to Padilla, he ultimately surrendered. However, his next admission sent chills down the spines of the agents. Upon realizing that his car was on fire, Padilla uttered the words “she’s in back,” revealing to the officers that there was a woman still trapped in the burning car.
“She’s in back,” David Padilla Jr said, according to the New York Post. “Get her out of there. Did they get her out?”
In a race against time, the agents sprinted back to the SUV, which was surrounded by flames. Without a second to spare, an officer broke the rear window so that he and his colleagues could search the back seat. When they don’t see anyone in the vehicle, an agent noticed a large black duffle bag.
“She’s in the bag,” one of the officers suddenly exclaimed.
The men cleared the glass shards from the window port and reached through, hoisting the bag out and gently placing it on the ground. They then unzipped the pouch, revealing a petite woman trapped inside. She slowly stood up, likely in shock, staring at the inferno in front of her.
It immediately became clear to authorities that Padilla was acting as a human trafficker, smuggling in the migrant woman. He had hidden her in the human-sized duffle bag in order to evade agents. When the K-9 unit sniffed out his plan, he bolted, abandoning his helpless passenger to her demise.
The woman was taken for processing by border patrol agents. Fortunately, officers were there to save her from what surely would have been a horrific death.
“Smugglers continue to expose those they are smuggling to dangerous and life-threatening conditions,” the Texas Department of Public Safety said in the wake of the ordeal.
David Padilla Jr was arrested and taken into custody by border patrol agents. He was charged with transport, attempt to transport, and conspire to transport the female migrant.
Although illegal immigration is painted with a broad brush by the media, the victims of this dangerous system are often overlooked. This woman would have received processing by lawfully arriving at a legal point of entry. However, a trafficker instead endangered her life and the lives of others by smuggling her in illegally.
Illegal immigration is degrading and dangerous to migrants and rewards those who take advantage of their desperation. Thankfully, the officers, who are often labeled villains, were there to intervene and save a life.
